11 Apps Every Marketer Should Download

Apps are everywhere these days, and not just on your iPhone. Apps are all over Android, mobile devices, desktops ... even in your marketing software! And the functionality of these apps is ever-expanding, which is good news for marketers, because it means you can now download an app that does more than just fling angry birds at little green pigs. That's right -- now there are apps out there that make a marketer's life easier, and even make them better at their jobs.

As a marketer and fan of exploring new apps (although my colleagues might have a more emphatic name for me than "fan"), I wanted to share with you the apps that make marketers more successful at, well, marketing. Here are what I consider to be 11 must-have apps for marketers so you can really make a dent in your career!

1) Evernote

As a marketer, you are bound to think of your next campaign idea at an unexpected time: right before you go to bed, as you are about to step on the subway, or even when you're out with friends. So how do you make sure you don't forget your next lead generation idea? With Evernote, of course!

Evernote is a way to capture your notes while you're on the go. Not only is there a desktop application, but there is also a mobile application. As soon as you open either device, it will sync and update your notes so that you always have access to your latest information. The ability to constantly have a virtual notepad like this is so important for marketers who have to keep up-to-date on the changing landscape of marketing, and best of all, Evernote can be used on any device! For more tips on how to use Evernote for marketing, check out our blog post, How Marketers Can Use Evernote to Organize and Simplify Their Lives.

2) Dropbox

Dropbox is a fantastic tool for collaboration and file sharing; it's so simple! It becomes a folder on your hard drive where you can upload files and share them with others on your team. You can also download Dropbox apps on your smartphone and iPad so you can have those files on the go -- even when you aren't by your computer. But the best part about Dropbox is that you can keep files that are too large to send via email, and immediately give access to other members of your team. This app can also be used on any device.

3) GoDocs

Have you ever been on the go but needed to access your Google Documents to update something you simply forgot to change before you left the office? GoDocs is not an official Google app, but it still works really well to access your Google Docs. It sorts your documents by the last one that was edited and allows you to see the entire document. You can even upload documents right from your phone. If you're working on a spreadsheet with multiple tabs, it includes all of the tabs as well. GoDocs also allows for multiple accounts. This is available for iPhone and Android devices.

4) Trello

Trello is a collaboration tool for to-do lists. Each team member has a "board" where they list tasks they have to do, tasks they are working on, and tasks they have completed. Take a look:

Trello also gives users the ability to assign other team members to tasks on their list, and give deadlines and priority labels to tasks on your list. You can also have checklists within individual tasks and track your progress on completing those tasks.

Trello is both a website app and a mobile app. So when you are leaving work and want to know what you still need to complete, you can just grab your phone, open the app, and look at what your night or next day has to offer! This app is available on iPhone and Android devices.

5) HootSuite

HootSuite provides a social media dashboard that helps marketers post, monitor, and measure their social media tools. It allows you to schedule posts to Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ throughout the day, and even manage multiple accounts. Additionally, it provides analytics that are essential for marketers to be able to report and figure out how to increase their followers, traffic, and clicks. Similar to other apps, HootSuite can be accessed from your smartphone so you can continue to monitor and engage with your followers at any time. This app is available on all desktops.

6) GoToMeeting

Have you ever been on the train with terrible wireless but needed to call into a meeting or webinar? There is now a GoToMeeting/GoToWebinar mobile app that lets you do just that! It allows you to not only hear the presentation, but also see the presenter's screen. Instead of simply calling into meetings when you are not in the office, you can now see them right from your mobile device! This app is available on iPhone and Android devices.

7) Eventbrite

Many events now use Eventbrite to keep track of their registrations. You can buy tickets on Eventbrite, create backend reports, and track where your attendees are coming from. Eventbrite also has a mobile app that keeps track of the events you have registered for on Eventbrite, so you can easily access any of the information on their Eventbrite page. This will come in handy for people who don't remember when and where the event is and are already on their way!

Because HubSpot has seen the value in this app, we have created an app for our App Marketplace. It will keep track of who has registered for your event, your ticket sale progress, and import your registrants as leads into your portal so you can continue to have a relationship with them after your event. This is a great way to share some of the content from the event after it's over and keep in touch with your attendees. This app is available on iPhone and Android devices.

Statigram provides analytics for Instagram, a mobile app that was recently acquired by Facebook and more and more frequently being used by brands in marketing campaigns. In addition to fun metrics to see what your most popular photos were and what filters were used the most, it also gives reports on the best time to post new photos, the average lifespan of a photo, which filters are triggering the biggest amounts of likes and traffic, and which followers are the most engaged. This app is available on all desktops.

9) Pinerly

Similar to Statigram, Pinerly measures activity on Pinterest. It helps find people who pin pictures that match your interests, helps identify people who have unfollowed you or you may want to unfollow, identifies popular pins that you may want to repin, allows you to schedule pins throughout the day, and provides statistics to show you what you are doing right and wrong. As a marketer, it's important to be able to schedule pins throughout the day to constantly engage your audience, and then measure the activity around your pins to determine whether or not you are pinning images of interest to your followers. This app is available on all desktops, and if you're new to Pinterest, download our ebook to learn more about how to leverage Pinterest for business.

10) iReach

PR Newswire has always been the go-to tool for public relations professionals to send out press releases. However, putting a press release on the wire can be very expensive, and not always realistic for small marketing budgets. But HubSpot has an app in its App Marketplace that addresses that problem! For only $179, you can put a press release on the wire to a smaller segment of publications, but still over 1,000 websites including PR Newswire. We have used it in the past for big announcements with great results. For HubSpot customers, this app is available in your HubSpot portal.

11) Zerys

Blogging and content creation is one of the most important components of inbound marketing, but all too often, it gets pushed to the back burner. The Zerys app provides a solution to this problem! Zerys allows you to post topic and title suggestions that you would like to have written for your blog, and then gets in touch with writers who want to help you write blog posts. You can then accept, request edits, or reject the content. It even helps you think of titles based on the topics you want to write about! This app is also available to HubSpot customers in your HubSpot portal.

Having a Dropbox account is a "must have". It's the easiest way to share documents with co-workers and clients. Plus, you never have to figure out where a doc is. Just access your Dropbox from any of your devices, it's right there.

I actually use some of these (and so far I am very happy with all of them) whilst others are new to me. I will certainly give them a go.

I must say that I have experienced some minor differences between the Windows and Mac versions of some of these (e.g.: Evernote not counting words on the Mac version...) Cloud technology should solve these issues once for all....but seems there is still time for improvement in some of them.

I'm now using both Dropbox and Google Drive (Google Drive is more affordable). Trello and EverNote are great. I don't have a team so just ended up using Trello alone (very effectively).

As for GoToMeeting - I feel like Google+ Hangouts on Air (free and convenient with recording on YouTube afterwards) will replace GoToMeeting. Unless presenter would want to hide their face (but why would they?).

Kelly

If I were an account manager working on a really tight budget, I might use Zerys. However, as a writer, it's absolutely useless. The pay-rates are insultingly...even obnoxiously low. I have no idea what the quality of work is like, but it's probably a good place for writers beginning their career or hobbyists to make an extra dime a week. If you're a writer w/ a few years' experience, don't bother with it.

Dropbox and GoTo have been great for both myself and my clients.

Rachel Sprung

Max, I love your points! I'm glad you are trying out the apps.

I am really interested your idea about Google+ Hangouts on Air replacing GoToMeeting. But what about private company meetings?